All Saints Sunday
November 3, 2013 “The Heart of a Saint” Jesus changes our hearts. The eyes of our hearts have been enlightened. Jesus fulfills the longings in our hearts and fills with enlightenment. Such is the work of Christ, changing hearts, making saints.
New Sermon Series – In Lawrenceville as it is in Heaven
October 27, 2013 “Priceless Treasure” Jesus said the kingdom of God is like “a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field”. Luther re-discovered a treasure, and his life and all of Christendom was forever changed as a result.
October 20, 2013 “The Kingdom of God has Come Near” We’ve been considering the kingdom of God statements of Jesus, and this week’s gospel reading from Luke 10 features Jesus sending the disciples out two-by-two with special instructions and going from town to town announcing the “kingdom of God has come near”. What do these words mean for us today?
October 13, 2013 “Plant, Harvest. Repeat.” Giving back to God a portion of what one has received is an essential Biblical principle. Some may wonder to what end? The answer lies in kingdom thinking: the kingdom of God is planting and growing, trusting God will provide again after seeds are sown. And in the process the kingdom of God grows.
October 6, 2013 “In Search of the Kingdom” “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation”, Jesus tells the Pharisees in Luke 17:21, “nor will people say ‘Here it is’ or “There it is’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
September 29, 2013 “Leaven for 30044” The operative ingredient for bread is yeast, this organism that enlivens and modifies the whole. Doesn’t that function resonate with how we are called to be the church? Fed by the “bread of life” (John 6:35), Christ’s followers are yeast for their workplaces and neighborhoods.
September 22, 2013 “Kingdom and Kids” Kids have a special place in the Christ’s kingdom. In Luke 18, the disciples didn’t think children were important enough for Jesus’ time and sent them away. Jesus rebuked the disciples and blessed the children. This Sunday we will consider the role of children in God’s Kingdom here in Lawrenceville.
September 15, 2013 “Banquet” When Jesus talks of his followers hosting a meal, he says “…when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.'” (Luke 14). Jesus challenges us to re-think common assumptions about food and fellowship.
September 8, 2013 “In Lawrenceville as it is in Heaven” What does it mean to find God’s kingdom among us? How would we know? It is one thing to pray for God’s kingdom to come down on earth in general, but what about the specific, where you are right now? For most of us heaven feels as if it is far off, not near.
September 1, 2013 “99 or 1” Few among us have ever cared for sheep, but Jesus suggests that those who do are willing to leave 99 to search for 1. When applying this principle to congregational life, I’m not sure we are all on board for that.
August 18, 2013 “It’s a Mystery” Usually we think of the Christian faith as being a place that helps explains life’s mysteries. Questions such as “why are we here?” “what is my purpose?” “where can I find meaning?”. This Sunday, we discuss the aspects of the Christian faith that are mysterious. And who doesn’t love a good mystery?
August 11, 2013 “God’s Good Pleasure” For all our interest in being entertained, have you ever paused to wonder what God enjoys? Jesus tells us in Luke chapter 12 that God’s good pleasure is to give us the kingdom. What is the kingdom and what does this mean for us?
New Sermon Series – Amazing Grace:
July 28, 2013 “Bright Shining As the Sun” Our tour through the hymn Amazing Grace comes to an end this Sunday as we examine the final verse, one that was not written by the author of the hymn, John Newton, but added later by Christians in America. The origins of the verse are mysterious, but there is no mistaking the final image the verse imparts; one of timeless adoration of Christ, all the saints gathering to praise the Lord.
July 21, 2013 “People of the Promise” As our tour of the hymn Amazing Grace continues this week with verse 4, we observe that God made promises of good to each of us, a promise given in baptism a promise we take on with faith in Christ. There are dangers, toils, and snares (verse 3) but God promises not to abandon us, but instead offers us protection and refuge.
July 14, 2013 “The Gospel of Home” Our series on Amazing Grace resumes with an examination of verse 3.
“Home” is a term that elicits deeply held feelings. Home isn’t just where you live, home is our refuge from a rough-and-tumble world. In verse 3 we sing of the struggles grace has gotten us through far, followed by the Good News that via grace our ultimate destination is home. Like the Prodigal son who left but returned home to a loving father, so our home is with God, our refuge and strength.
June 30, 2013 “And Grace, My Fears Relieved” As we consider the hymn “Amazing Grace” our focus turns to verse two:
T’was Grace that taught my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear The hour I first believed.
This verse describes grace in various ways, connecting grace to fear and relief, narrowing grace to a moment when it first appears. Such a description might confound life-long Christians. Typically grace isn’t a quality of God that we fear. Most among us have been a part of Jesus’ family since before we could talk, so when is the “hour” we “first believed”.
June 9, 2013 “Silence and Sound” It is out of silence that God speaks to us. Just as the written page has margins of blank space so we can better see the words, so does silence create a space for God’s voice. Out of silence we begin a sermon series on “Amazing Grace”, the hymn our church is named after. “….how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me…” Grace is sound, the spoken promise of God. Paul writes in Romans 10:17 that “faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ”. Silence makes room for the sweet sound of grace.
